In the Year of Our Lord, 2000
Introduction –
This is a psalm of Moses.
While we have other prayers and songs in the Pentateuch, this is the
only psalm attributed to Moses. He most
likely wrote this during the ‘wilderness years’ while shepherding two groups of
people – those who would wander in their rebellion and then die, and the next
generation who would enter into the Promised Land. In this psalm the vanity of life in its sinfulness and frailty is
contrasted with the glory of life in the presence of God. As another year, another decade, another
century, another millennium, ticks by – these are good meditations for God’s
church.
God, Our Home (vv1-2) – From Abraham, to the children of Israel,
and up until the time of Moses, the Jews never had a home – only promises. Even today, there is to be no ‘homeland’ of
God’s people, for the kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of His Christ. While we are to
enjoy the creaturely comforts of ‘home’ when granted, God is our dwelling
place. This ‘home’ is unchangeable and
secure (v2). God is like a mountain,
never changing. Jesus said He had no
place to lay his head – no home here on earth (Luke 9:58).
Life is Fast
(vv3-6). In ourselves, we
cannot sing of ‘the circle of life’, but rather, ‘the circle of death’. How quickly has it become the year
2000? And how quickly will come the
last day of your life? Peter uses the
language of v4 to teach that God is not unfaithful with regard to His promises,
for His perspective on time is radically different than ours (2 Pet 3:8). And so, from the perspective of eternity,
your life (and all of those really important things to do on your ‘to-do’ list)
is just a wisp of wind, a small part of a watch in the night. Who will remember you 100, 200, 5000 years
from now?
Life is Full of
Sin and Sorrow (vv7-10).
God knows all of
your sins, even the secret ones. And He
knows all the sins of everyone on the face of the earth. And the results of the Fall are all around
us in this estate of sin and misery.
Verse 9 should be compared to Ps 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life;” Are
you in the wilderness in the flesh or by faith? Verse 10 teaches us that even if you live longer than the
actuaries say, they will be your toughest years of labor and sorrow. But don’t let age fool you – no one is
promised tomorrow. Without Christ, “Let
us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”.
Redeeming the Time (vv11-12) – The purpose of
‘numbering your days’ is not to get the most toys, money, or be the most
successful. It is to gain a heart of
wisdom. Wisdom allows me to live this
vain life with great joy and purpose, because wisdom sees Christ in everything.
Flee Autonomy
(v13) – Like
the return of the prodigal, our attitude becomes one of constant dependence
upon our Father, and constant desire for His compassion. No area of my life is separate from God,
from His purposes, from His blessing or curse.
Godly
Pleasure-seekers (v14) –
We are instructed to pray that God would satisfy us, and
quickly, with Himself. Satisfaction is
a good thing to seek; pleasure in God is a good thing to seek. This is similar to the prayer – ‘lead us not
into temptation’.
Real Hope (v15) – Even in the greatest
of trials, there is hope for overflowing blessing and gladness, if the Lord is
pleased to give it.
Real Purpose
(v16) - There
is meaning and purpose in your work, and in your offspring, if the Lord is pleased
to give it.
“Let the Beauty of the Lord Be Upon Us…” (v17) - Whether it is the music, poetry, literature
we write, the paintings, sculptures we make, the buildings, cities we
construct, one thing is sure. We have
lost the sense of beauty, and so we have lost our sense of God. We must repent of our lies of relativism in
beauty. We have deified man, saying
that whatever comes from him is by definition – beautiful. But its not – its ugly.
We are to
worship God, beholding His beauty (Ps 27:4).
We must come to Him dressed in the beauty of holiness (Ps 29:2). The church is to display the glory of God’s
perfect beauty to the world (Ps 50:2).
Beauty is an objective reflection of an attribute of God. We are not only to be adorned with truth and
goodness, but with beauty as well (Rev 21:2).
Our works are to be established
in this beauty as well (Eccl 3:1-11, Rom 8:28). Only eyes of faith can see the works of past years and of this
coming year as having purpose and meaning, and as being beautiful in God’s
time.
Conclusion
– What are the good works God has prepared for you to walk in
this coming year? How about
tomorrow? Monday will either be a day
like a gerbil getting back on the wheel in his cage, or a day of gladness and
joy, doing the mundane work of the Lord, prepared in eternity past, and having
eternal ramifications on the future.